How we scored it
Water (n=1) plus trace steam-distilled volatiles from prickly-pear cactus stems (pads) (n=1). No synthetic fragment. Total 1.0.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.
Where it comes from
Dominant route is steam distillation of cactus stems (pads), keeping the condensed aqueous phase (hydrosol). No alternative route is commercially significant.
In plain English
Water collected when prickly-pear cactus pads are steam-distilled, carrying trace plant compounds. It is used as a skin-conditioning ingredient, usually as part of the water phase of a product.
CosIng definition: Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Water is the aqueous solution of the steam distillates obtained from the stems of Opuntia ficus-indica,Cactaceae.
References
- 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
- 2OPUNTIA FICUS-INDICA STEM WATER. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3OPUNTIA FICUS-INDICA STEM WATER. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=OPUNTIA%20FICUS-INDICA%20STEM%20WATER